TJ McCue
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TJ McCue commented on Avoiding Slavery to Our Digital Devices on June 26, 2009, 10:52 AM
I turned in my smartphone for a dumbphone and now I get more done. I'm not joking. While I love all the new gadgets and time-saving devices, I'm not so sure about the benefits. What I found for 3-4 weeks after shutting off my email handheld was that I kept flicking my wrist to see if I had any emails on my dumbphone. Of course, there were no emails. The occasional text maybe, but no emails and a certain sense of peace. The main reason I did it was I found I was becoming less thoughtful and effective in my responses. I would answer important questions from a client with less time and effort, which started to show in my results. "Answering" the email is not usually the point. Solving the problem is the point. The discipline we refer to is nearly impossible because you become addicted to the instant, to the immediate. Addicted isn't really the right word; you start to feel obligated to respond quickly. To be omnipresent. 24/7/365. To be fair, I want an iPhone or iPod Touch (that I can use as a skype phone). I see the value -- it saves me time and lets me carry less weight (laptop, netbook, what-have-you). I want the GPS-enablement. These things are cool and useful and fun and... I'll probably have one again someday after I attain the zen-like state of discipline we all refer to above. Then I'll get smart again.
TJ McCue commented on Your Guide to Recession Entrepreneurship on June 25, 2009, 8:50 PM
I read that piece in the NY Times and bunch of others like it recently. The fact is there are many new web-based ventures that simply need less to get to sustainable and profitable revenue. In my work with online scheduling pioneer, Shiftboard, they are certainly in that category of not needing a full VC round. I have seen probably 10 new ventures that will get to profitable revenue without much outside cash. That's a good thing. They can grow and become profitable and build something that a bigger company will need. Just read some of the other great articles here in BigThink and you'll see how many entrepreneurs are changing the landscape of America and elsewhere.
TJ McCue commented on Jim Spanfeller Lobbies for the New Entrepreneur Class on June 25, 2009, 8:43 PM
Sometimes these conversations get pretty pie-in-the-sky, but I really appreciate how many of the contributors and commenters (and maybe soon some of those lurkers...) are trying to demystify and add clarity to why and how entrepreneurs set the pace of change in most of the world. I am completely amazed at the new ventures I see starting in the proverbial garage, the master bedroom closets, the work lofts, and even those shared cubicle/workspaces popping up in metros all over the world. The web-based companies are the ones that amaze me the most. I mentioned Shiftboard above solving staffing and scheduling problems for staffing managers in many companies and countries. They are not offering a calendar, but a new way to approach scheduling (a very unsexy, but ubiquitous problem in many companies). It isn't just the software, but the entire culture in these rapidly growing companies. A new way of thinking and serving is emerging because of web applications, and more importantly, mobile applications. I am eager to see more of contributions on the way these technologies and platforms and systems are shifting how we work, how we get business done. I laugh at the comments that people make about Twitter and Facebook and others being a waste of time. Those same folks often laughed at having a web page 10 years ago. We deride the dotcom days as a frenzy with a bunch of vaporware companies, but we forget that tons of good and valuable thinking took place then. It was only possible because of the growth wave. The next iterations are what we're seeing now. Without the dotcom, we wouldn't be here with so many tools to make the collaboration possible. Without the dotbomb, we wouldn't have learned and had our resolve tempered. Raise a glass to the entrepreneurs helping us innovate our way to a new growth phase.
TJ McCue commented on A Video Investment Guide From Jim Rogers on June 25, 2009, 7:46 PM
I enjoyed Jim's books -- Adventure Capitalist and the Biker one. Didn't realize he moved to Singapore, but I seem to recall that Jim stated in an interview that you have to move where the action is. To London, to New York, and in this new millennium, one should be in Asia. I completely agree, but I'm still sitting on the other side of the Pacific Rim! I've often heard the advice -- "Invest in what you know". While I believe that is good advice, it seems to me that it is somewhat limiting. You can always go out and learn more about something and spend time studying it. Thus, you'll know it... That maxim always makes me feel that human beings are static, unchanging. Of course, we know that isn't true. Either way, listening to Jim Rogers is always enlightening and useful.
TJ McCue commented on Tom Stemberg: How Can You Make The Most Of Technological Revolution? on June 26, 2009, 11:02 AM
I agree and disagree. The "investment" into technology today can be in the cloud, with web-based applications, and like Anita said you can get a lot for your dollar today. Companies don't usually fail because they didn't look ahead and buy technology. They fail because they didn't make enough sales, or spend enough in the team that makes that happen. We can wax eloquent all day long about technology (in which I believe), about process, about fancy-somethings, but it all comes down to selling what you have to people who want to buy it. Technology makes some of that easier, but business still happens between people. All that said -- I found Stemberg's points interesting and helpful. I'm a tech guy and get involved in lots of web-based work, but I still think we get sucked into thinking the gear or the gadgets make the person or company successful. They don't. People are still the best tech gear on the planet!